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My worktops are treated with Danish oil, and I appear to have got some on the tiled splashbacks and not noticed until it's cured (it's not very obvious except in daylight, I oiled by artifical light).

Is there any way to get it off? I don't want to use a blade until I've got an idea of how to get the residue off where the blade won't attack it.

It's not going sticky, so not a duplicate of How to solve the problem of sticky Danish oil?.

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Mineral spirits won't work. You need something stronger like acetone. If you have ceramic tiles they won't be harmed.

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I finally got round to experimenting. The following had no effect at all even combined with elbow grease:

  • white spirit (mineral spirits)
  • petrol (zippo fuel)
  • WD40

These - with rubbing - removed the cured oil. In subjective order of increasing effectiveness:

  • methylated spirits
  • 100% acetone
  • cellulose thinners

It is of course possible that there was a cumulative effect (I only worked on a small test patch). I'm sure soaking would help but that's not useful on a vertical surface above a worktop treated with the same stuff.

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I would trying using Mineral Spirits with a scrap piece of cloth or a toothbrush/brush to scrub if need be. Mineral Spirits is used to clean brushes and other finishes from other things, so this may be something to try.

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  • For those of us the same size of the Atlantic as me, that's white spirit. I'm sceptical given how little it does to set paint, but there's a spot that's easy to test, even to soak so I'll give it a go. – Chris H Jan 29 '16 at 19:59
  • Maybe I am under minding the strength of Danish oil, but is it honestly that difficult to remove? Isn't it just an oil that will penetrate wood and not other harder materials? – Markpelly Jan 29 '16 at 21:12
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    The key is it's a drying oil, which means it undergoes a chemical change (oxidation). It's like linseed oil in that respect. In fact I think linseed oil is a major ingredient along with waxes and a solvent to increase penetration (IIRC). A solvent that will dissolve the uncured oil may well not affect the cured oil at all. – Chris H Jan 29 '16 at 21:23
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    Having finally tested it, white/mineral spirit had no effect even with a good scrub. – Chris H Mar 12 '16 at 11:31
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I spilled some sugar soap solution on my worktop and it removed the danish oil rather too well, so I expect it would do the same on tiles. The difficulty would be in protecting the worktop below.

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    Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Would you edit your question to make "rather too wee" clearer? And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to contribute here. – Daniel Griscom Nov 11 '19 at 12:18

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